Table Rock Lake Links

Frequently Asked Questions

We are located just south of the Table Rock Dam, accross the parking lot from the Dewey Short Visitors Center, at 4600 State Highway 165, Branson, Missouri. Our office hours are 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

A brochure is available,which opens up into a color map of Table Rock Lake. This is free of charge and can be obtained at the Project Office. You may also download an electronic version: Table Rock Lake map (PDF).

The National Recreation Reservation Service is open year round to book your next stay on Table Rock. You can contact them toll free at 1-877-444-6777, or online at http://www.recreation.gov. You will be required to pay for your entire stay when you make the reservation. Reservations cannot be made within two days of your expected arrival date, or more than 180 days in advance.

Yes. All developed recreation areas on Table Rock Lake charge an area use fee of $4 per car or $1 per person if walking into the park. The fee is reduced 50% if anyone in the vehicle has an America the Beautiful or Golden Age/Access Pass. An annual day use area pass is available for $30.00 ($15.00 with America the Beautiful or Golden Age/Access Passports). This pass is good for unlimited visits 12 months from the date of purchase and is honored at all Corps of Engineers day-use recreation areas nationwide. The area fee is charged to anyone entering the park to utilize the facilities except for registered campers and marina customers that remain in the marina lease area.

You can discover the wide variety of attractions available in the area surrounding Table Rock Lake by visiting the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & Convention & Visitors Bureau at http://www.bransonchamber.com.

It provides additional capacity for the release of floodwaters during extremely large and rare catastrophic flood events. The new spillway would only be used during extreme emergencies when lake levels exceed elevation 937 feet. By that time, the existing spillway gates would be fully open and much flooding would have already occurred.

Yes. If you are planning an event of any type on Table Rock Lake waters or public lands, you must submit a Special Events Permit. For more information, you may contact the Project Office at 501-340-1950 or ceswl-tr@usace.army.mil.

Volunteers are always welcome on Table Rock Lake. To see if any volunteer positions are available, or add your name to a waiting list, please contact the Table Rock Project Office at 501-340-1950 or ceswl-tr@usace.army.mil.

Yes. It is possible, if certain criteria are met. The Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management Plan approved in 1976 and last reviewed in 1996 regulates placement of docks. Boat docks are permitted only in areas designated for limited development use. A first step would be to visit the Table Rock Lake Project Office, where one may view maps showing the limited development areas. These areas make up approximately 10 percent of the shoreline. While at our Project Office, one will be able to determine if a dock could be placed in the area desired. At that time, one will also be able to learn other specifics regarding boat dock placement or visit our webpageon Shoreline Management.

No modification of the government property is allowed without a permit. One can request permission to make a footpath to the lake, remove small brush, and mow on government property. The first step is to fill out an application for vegetation modification to conduct the desired activities and then mailing or presenting, in person, the application to the Table Rock Lake Project Office. The next step is a site inspection by a ranger who will help determine the limits of the permit and answer any questions one may have. When the landowner receives the approved vegetation management permit, it is only then that one can modify public land. There are some activities expressly prohibited on government land such as burning, using a vehicle, placing of personal property, and the use of chemicals. Also, one may not trim or cut trees (live or dead) unless the Project Office has granted permission.

These buoy permits may be obtained through the Missouri State Water Patrol. For more information about the Missouri State Highway Patrol and to acquire a buoy application go to http://www.mswp.dps.mo.gov/.

The originally chosen site for Table Rock Dam was located at Table Rock Mountain. Further geologic surveys revealed this site as unstable and therefore unsuitable. The site was changed to the present location, but the name “Table Rock” was retained.

Electricity generated here at Table Rock Dam is used to meet peak energy demands. Table Rock is a link in a chain of power producing stations that provide about seven million end-use customers in six states (Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas) with power to meet peak demand periods. The Southwest Power Administration is our governing agency and it sells and delivers this power to about one hundred electric cooperative systems in these six states.

The water used to turn our generator turbines is drawn from Table Rock Lake at a depth of about 140 feet. Sunlight is unable to penetrate the water to that depth to warm the water. The water at that depth is about 45 degrees year round.

The White River. The White River originates south of Fayetteville, Arkansas, flows Northeast in an arc into Missouri, then Southeast again back into Arkansas. It empties into the Mississippi River in Desha County, Arkansas. The White River drains 28,000 square miles in Missouri and Arkansas.